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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24269407">separate's always better when there's feelings involved</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/'>Anonymous</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bottom Thor (Marvel), Complicated Relationships, Dirty Talk, Enemies With Benefits, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Porn, Slow Burn, Top Peter Quill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:47:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,086</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24269407</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>‘I just slept with Quill again,’ his mind supplies, ‘and this time I was completely sober.’</p><p>Thor is down with this 'enemies with benefits' thing they have going on. That is until Thor realizes he wants more.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Mantis (Marvel), Clint Barton/Wade Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Peter Quill/Thor, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Anonymous</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. i don't have a thought that is sober</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first thought that crosses Thor’s mind is the growing pain in his thighs and hips. Thor groans and blinks the sleepiness out of his eyes. What—? </p><p>Oh.</p><p>This isn’t his room. Thor gets up a little to turn and sees a crimson leather jacket hanging off a rack. So, this must be Quill and Loki’s room. Maybe he fell asleep while studying with Loki?</p><p>Thor stumbles up only to fall back into the bed, pain shooting through his legs and, fuck, his head is aching. As the blankets fall, he realizes.</p><p>He’s naked?</p><p>Thor blinks again, looking around and careful not to move his legs too much. Quill is asleep in the same bed as him. It takes a few seconds for the tired haze to clear.</p><p>“Oh god,” Thor whispers. Memories of last night fill his head. It was Carol’s birthday. Everyone at the dorms gathered at a local bar. Thor had drunk enough that he probably shouldn’t be making any big decisions. </p><p>Thor quietly gets up, powering through his pain, and looks for his boxers among the strewn mess of the room. He catches himself in the mirror and almost screams. </p><p>Hickeys cover his neck and purple smudges mark his hips. There was no way he could hide any of this. Loki doesn’t seem to have been here. Thank god.</p><p>Thor continues to pick up his boxers with a soft sigh and puts them on. </p><p>Thor gets on his pants before a groan causes him to jump.</p><p>Quill sits up in bed, raking a hand through his hair, before turning and flinching a little.</p><p>“Odinson— the fuck ar’you doin’?” Quill murmurs, scrubbing his eyes. “Why’re you here?”</p><p>It’s great that Quill is way too tired to be angry. He groggily puts on his clothes, not even wondering how they got off in the first place. That is, until Quill tilts his head, running through the events of last night before his eyes widen. </p><p>Then, Thor is up against the wall, and Quill’s hand is up above him, keeping him trapped.</p><p>“What the fuck did you do to me, Odinson?” Quill growls out. A shiver runs down Thor’s spine, and now he kind of understands how this was bound to happen. Thor swallows, pushing away the little part of him that wants to reenact what happened last night.</p><p>“Question is, what did you do to me?” Thor huffs, twisting his neck to show off the dark hickeys lining his collarbone. Quill takes a step back as Thor slides his pants a little lower, showing off the finger-shaped bruises on his hips.</p><p>Quill can’t seem to think of a response and instead turns away. He hands Thor his shirt before muttering, “Let’s never speak of this again.”</p><p>“Of what?” Thor smiles, checking that he has everything he needs before unlocking the door and leaving. He limps down the hall, waiting against the wall for the elevator to come down.</p><p>He fumbles with his keys, throwing his dorm door open.</p><p>“Point Break! I was starting to think your brother murdered you,” Tony snarks. He turns back, continuing to tinker around with Stephen’s laptop. </p><p>“Looks like he was up a little too late,” Stephen mumbles, hiding a small smile on his face as Tony’s head shoots up. Tony takes one look at the disheveled state of Thor’s clothing and hair, the purple marks on Thor’s neck, and the limp in his walk, and laughs.</p><p>“Who was it, Pikachu?” Tony asks. Thor coughs.</p><p>“So, Stark, what is it that you’re working on?” Thor attempts. Fortunately, it works, sending Tony on a tangent about how Stephen is a stupid boyfriend who decided that placing scorching tea on top of the laptop was a good idea. </p><p>Still, Stephen narrows his eyes at Thor one last time before listening to Tony.</p><p>Thor grabs a new change of clothes and heads into the bathroom to get a look at himself again. He reaches into his pocket for his phone.</p><p>sparkles &gt; Hey val, do you have any concealer i can borrow?</p><p>val &gt; yeah dude </p><p>sparkles &gt; I’ll come down in 5 to get it.</p><p>val &gt; wait—</p><p>val &gt; what do u need concealer for??? hjhjjioygu</p><p>thor &gt; I’ll tell you when i come down to get it,</p><p>val &gt; ill ask mantis since her skins closer to urs</p><p>val &gt; also </p><p>val &gt; why do u have auto caps on loser</p><p>Thor chuckles a little and shoves his phone back in its place before working on racking through his hair. At least the new haircut didn’t require him to comb through any tangles.</p><p>He changes so that it’s not as obvious something happened. It’s a slightly higher shirt, but the hickeys are still visible. Fucking Quill.</p><p>Thor finds a time when Tony and Stephen are totally engrossed in what they’re doing to sneak down to Brunnhilde’s room.</p><p>“Who is it? Oh! Hi, Thor!” Mantis smiles warmly, inviting him in. Thor can’t help but mirror the expression as he sits on the couch Mantis and Brunnhilde managed to squeeze into their room.</p><p>“Hi, Mantis! Have you see Val?” Thor asks.</p><p>“Oh yeah, I’ll get her. Brunnie!” Mantis calls. Brunnhilde pops her head out.</p><p>“Thor,” Brunnhilde starts, assessing Thor’s look, “what happened last night?”</p><p>“Just come into the bathroom,” Thor sighs. Brunnhilde grabs the concealer and closes the door behind the two of them.</p><p>“So, again,” Brunnhilde brings out a little brush, “what happened?”</p><p>“Peter Quill happened,” Thor replies in an exasperated tone. Brunnhilde dabs the concealer around Thor’s neck.</p><p>“You and him?” Brunnhilde raises a brow, “don’t you guys hate each other’s guts or whatever?”</p><p>“I was drunk, and you know that Quill gets utterly shitfaced after one shot,” Thor mumbles in embarrassment. Brunnhilde simply laughs in response.</p><p>“Well, my business here is done,” Brunnhilde stands up. She smiles at her handy work and turns Thor’s head all sorts of ways to see if missed any spots.</p><p>“That hurts—“ Thor bites out.</p><p>“Don’t be a baby,” Brunnhilde says, “you’re good to go.”</p><p>“Wait,” Thor blurts before he can stop himself, “how do I act like this thing never happened?”</p><p>“Talk to him about it,” Brunnhilde’s tone leaves no room for argument, but these things are easier said than done.</p><p>“Fine,” Thor huffs. He gets up and says his ‘see you later’s to Brunnhilde and Mantis. Mantis lets Thor borrow the concealer and brush. As Thor walks down the hall, he realizes, shit, he needs some painkillers for this headache and his hips.</p><p>He hovers on Quill’s number for a moment. I mean, what did he have to lose anyway?</p><p>loki’s annoying brother &gt; Hey, could we talk about last night?</p><p>pratt wannabe &gt; ...</p><p>loki’s annoying brother &gt; I mean, we don’t have to.</p><p>pratt wannabe &gt; sure</p><p>pratt wannabe &gt; but we are NOT doing this Over Text</p><p>pratt wannabe &gt; lokis not gonna be back until 10 </p><p>pratt wannabe &gt; so is 7 pm fine?</p><p>loki’s annoying brother &gt; Yes.</p><p>Thor arrives back at his dorm. Tony seems to be done tinkering with Stephen’s laptop, spinning around in the swivel chair while Stephen types away at his newly-fixed laptop.</p><p>If anyone has pain medications, it’s one of them. Thor clears his throat.</p><p>“Do you, by any chance, have any painkillers?” Thor asks, breaking the silence.</p><p>“Yup, here ya’ go,” Tony digs into his bag and tosses Thor a bottle, “must’ve been a long night, right?” Stephen elbows Tony, who scowls. “C’mon, Doc, let me have a little fun!”</p><p>“You won’t be having fun tonight if you keep this up,” Stephen mutters. Thor sits down on his bed and thinks about what he should say to Quill. </p><p>Was there even anything to talk about? Did Quill even remember anything or did he just assume something happened? It would be so awkward to even look at Quill since Thor hung out with the Guardians so often.</p><p>“It was Quill!” Tony tilts his head back, almost falling out of the chair. Oh my god, was he talking out loud? Thor just turns in his bed, facing away from Stephen and Tony. “It totally was, wasn’t it!” Tony teases, “I guess you guys were at each other’s necks in multiple ways.”</p><p>“Don’t tell anyone,” Thor squawks. He pushes his blanket up over him.</p><p>“Fine, fine,” Tony says, “I won’t tell anyone. You, Doc? Gonna go under Hippocratic Oath?”</p><p>“That doesn’t even make sense, Tony,” Stephen says while continuing to type. Thor looks over at the clock.</p><p>11:54 am.</p><p>The clock’s green glow is the last thing Thor sees before his eyes snap shut. </p><p>——</p><p>7:07 pm.</p><p>Thor rubs his eyes before realizing the time. He shoots up, seeing both Tony and Stephen are gone. Brunnhilde’s concealer rubbed off on the blankets.</p><p>He grabs his keys from the table and walks down the hall to the elevator. Thankfully, the painkillers seem to be doing their job, and the limp in Thor’s walk isn’t as obvious. He probably shouldn’t be walking around this much.</p><p>Thor knocks on the door. He tries to calm his shaking hand as he knocks. The door swings open, and there Quill is, eyes cold when he looks Thor up and down.</p><p>“Odinson,” Quill says, swallowing back an insult. He stiffly sidesteps to let Thor in. “Come in.”</p><p>Thor sits on Loki’s unoccupied bed, waiting for Quill to close the door behind him. Quill doesn’t make a move to sit, just stands in front of Thor with an expectant look on his face.</p><p>“So?” Quill starts, “what?”</p><p>“I-“ Thor pauses, “I don’t know.” He has never been good at words.</p><p>“Last night was a mistake,” Quill bites out, “You can just go ahead and forget about it.”</p><p>“How?” Thor stupidly asks.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure you barely even remember it!” Quill shouts. He takes a breath and runs a hand through his hair, pacing around. “We were both drunk, and that’s it. End of story.”</p><p>“You’re insufferable,” Thor mutters under his breath. Quill seems so worked up despite claiming they should forget about it.</p><p>“What did you say?” Quill stops in his tracks. Thor looks up.</p><p>“Nothing,” Thor quickly amends, hoping not to get into another fight with Quill. It wouldn’t end up so pretty.</p><p>“Didn’t sound like nothing,” Quill is way too close to Thor now. “This is your fault.”</p><p>“Are you serious? You’re the lightweight!” Thor can’t help but retort. </p><p>“I’m serious,” Quill says, “Just walkin’ around looking like that!” </p><p>Thor raises a brow, “what?” Quill’s face goes red.</p><p>“You can’t just look like that,” Quill gestures at Thor, “and expect me not to do anything about it!”</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Thor stands up and flicks his gaze to Quill’s lips. “Is this what you had in mind?” Thor lowers his voice to a whisper.</p><p>“Shut up,” Quill growls. Thor smirks when Quill’s eyes wander down to the waistband of Thor’s pants. All forms of self-control leave Thor the moment Quill looks back up at him with an almost predatory look.</p><p>Fuck it.</p><p>“Make me,” Thor challenges. Then, Quill’s left hand roughly wraps around Thor’s waist, pressing into the bruises that Quill made last night. Thor feels his back hit a wall, and Quill’s free hand is spent on messily pulling off his own pants and shirt. This is not a good idea. </p><p>“Shit,” Quill says, and Thor dumbly watches as Quill picks his pants up again to grab a packet of lube, “don’t laugh at me, Odinson.” </p><p>“I‘m not,” Thor teases, chuckling. It might be his imagination, but he swears he sees Quill’s eyes soften a little.</p><p>Thor doesn’t have time to think about it because Quill’s lips are against his, everything burns and feels way too good. Quill pushes Thor into his bed. “Take off your shirt,” Quill orders, “now.” Thor doesn’t waste any time, throwing his shirt to the floor. Quill is slipping Thor’s pants and boxers off. </p><p>Quill’s mouth is hot Thor’s neck, softly biting at it. He lifts Thor by the hips and turns him around. Thor grabs onto a pillow. “Is this good?” Quill mumbles. Thor simply makes a small noise of approval into the pillow before Quill empties the packet of lube into his hand.</p><p>It doesn’t take too long for Quill to prep. His hand makes languid strokes up and down his cock, and he uses the other to spread Thor’s legs. </p><p>Quill reaches to dip a finger into Thor’s hole. Thor’s breath stutters, and his grip on the pillows tightens as Quill finishes up. The whine Thor lets out causes Quill to smirk.</p><p>“So needy,” Quill coos, removing his finger and resting his hands on Thor’s hips. Each time Quill touches Thor it feels like electricity. </p><p>“Quill,” Thor whimpers. The way Thor says his name and how Thor bends over so easily for him makes Quill wonder.</p><p>“You’ve been thinkin’ about this, huh?” Quill lines himself up with Thor’s entrance, “Getting—“ Quill pushes in, “fucked!” He savors how Thor’s hands clench the pillow, nails digging into it. Thor makes strangled noise and desperately arches his back to take more of Quill’s cock.</p><p>“Oh fuck!” Thor chokes out. Quill begins to move, fucking hungrily into Thor. Quill pulls their hips closer and groans. </p><p>“You like getting fucked like this, don’t you?” Quill taunts while snapping his hips. Thor moans lowly in response. Quill pauses his thrusts, “say it.”</p><p>“I,” Thor swallows, “I like it.” </p><p>“Louder.” Quill teases, pushing only his tip in and squeezing Thor’s ass.</p><p>“I like being fucked like this,” Thor cries out, “please, fuck!” Thor’s begging goes straight to Quill’s dick, and Quill sinks his cock back in.</p><p>“Is this what you had in mind?” Quill says, mocking Thor’s words. Thor moans into the pillow, still having his fingers digging deep in it. Quill rolls his hips, and Thor just gets louder and louder. </p><p>Thor can barely form words as Quill thrusts into him and pressed his fingers into Thor’s hips.</p><p>Thor lets out a cry as his insides explode in pure pleasure, and his vision goes fuzzy. His hold on the pillow loosens.</p><p>Thor is a babbling mess of ‘please’s as Quill’s thrusts grow more erratic. He grabs on tightly to Thor.</p><p>“I‘m gonna fuckin’—“ Quill quivers, shoving his cock as deep as he can. Waves of static roll over Quill as he stills, emptying himself in Thor.  “Shit,” Quill pants. He pulls out and collapses on the bed.</p><p>They both breathe heavily, looking up at the ceiling. They think of nothing but sweaty hands and the smell of sex.</p><p>As Thor comes back from the absolute high, he flushes in realization of what he just did. He staggers to his feet and throws on his clothing. Thor stumbles over his pants as he swings open the door. Quill is sitting up in bed, opening his mouth to say something. </p><p>Thor turns and gives Quill one last look that’s unreadable before shutting the door behind him. </p><p>“You grabbed my jacket,” Quill breathes out to no one. A weird feeling swells in Quill’s chest as he stares at the door for a moment. </p><p>He gets up to turn on the fan and at least put on some pants before Loki gets back from wherever the hell he was. There’s no use in chasing after Thor, but some part of Quill just wants to throw the door open and follow him.</p><p>Quill falls asleep to the smell of Thor in the bedsheets.</p><p>——</p><p>Thor pulls his pants up and rushes down the stairs despite the soreness.</p><p>Fuck, fuck!</p><p>He enters his dorm room and makes a beeline for the bathroom. It’s a blessing that the dorm is still empty. </p><p>The cold water stings. What just happened?</p><p>‘I just slept with Quill again,’ his mind supplies, ‘and this time I was completely sober.’</p><p>Ugh. Thor checks his complexion in the mirror. He’s wearing a red jacket.</p><p>Thor’s heart skips a beat. Had he grabbed it by accident? Things just get worse.</p><p>Thor slips out of the jacket, hanging it up on the back of the bathroom door. Almost every bruise that Thor got last night has darkened and new bruises are starting to show.</p><p>Thor groans. The soreness in his legs is starting to set in, so he looks at himself one more time before opening the bathroom door. Thor gently lays down on his bed and his muscles slack.</p><p>Why did he run away? </p><p>Thor’s eyes fixate onto the clock hanging on Stephen’s side of the room. His brain starts to drift off. The crushed look on Quill’s face when Thor looked back comes to the forefront. Why did he make that face? Did he want Thor to stay? </p><p>Maybe Thor is reading too far into something that could’ve easily been his imagination. Still, the feeling that Quill wanted him to stay makes Thor’s heart flutter. Thor’s mind ends that thought immediately. Ok, ok, do not think about that. </p><p>‘It was a two-time thing,’ Thor tells himself. Usually, Thor doesn’t spend so much time worrying over shit like this. It frustrates him that it’s Quill that gets him this worked up over something that shouldn’t have happened.</p><p>The sound of the door jostling causes Thor to pull out his phone, pretending to have been in the room the whole time Stephen was gone. Stephen steps in quietly, placing his keys neatly on the counter.</p><p>Even when Stephen turns to smile at Thor, Thor can see the way Stephen’s eyes scan him. Why did Thor have to have such an observant roommate?</p><p>“I was just at Tony’s dorm,” Stephen says. It’s laced with a little bit of disdain. </p><p>“Did Drax pull a stunt?” Thor sits up.</p><p>“Yep. It was that ketchup thing again,” Stephen throws a plastic bag full of dirty clothing on the floor and kicks off his shoes. That’s why Tony always stays at Stephen’s. Drax is a pretty cool dude, but he just unintentionally pulls pranks on everyone.</p><p>Thor laughs, recalling the time he came over to study with Loki, and Quill was aggressively washing ketchup off his pants in the kitchen sink. He was muttering something about Drax under his breath. </p><p>Thor watches Strange pick the bag of ketchup-contaminated clothing and veers into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.</p><p>Thor shuts off the lamp on his side. He tucks a pillow under his arm. Thor opens up his phone with his other hand and lowers the brightness.</p><p>12:29 am.</p><p>He turns around to face the wall. His eyes slowly slide shut.</p><p>Thor hopes he doesn’t dream tonight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. you know you never learn</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tomorrow, Quill would go back to hating Thor's guts (and rearranging them), and that would be just fine with Thor.</p><p>Right?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>9:38 am.</p><p>It's Monday.</p><p>The harsh bathroom lights shine on Thor. Thor is carefully raising a concealer-saturated brush to his neck, wincing a little when he presses too hard against the bruises. He stares in the mirror and smiles when he sees the foundation covering up everything.</p><p>Out of sight, out of mind, right?</p><p>He takes his newly-washed shirt, jeans, and boxers from the hanger of the door, averting his gaze from Quill's jacket. Thor slips his clothes on and this time can't help but stare at the purple bruises on his hips. It's definitely not going to heal soon.</p><p>Thank god Tony lent him the bottle of pain killers.</p><p>When Thor exits the bathroom, Stephen is laying in bed and typing away at his phone. Thor shoulders his bag and is about to rush out the door.</p><p>"Thor," Stephen's voice calls, "I have a question."</p><p>"Yes?" Thor turns back.</p><p>"Why is Peter Quill's jacket in the bathroom?" Stephen is looking at Thor like he's looking for a very specific answer. Thor finds himself looking at the clock before smiling awkwardly.</p><p>"Look at the time!" Thor does a full 180-degree turn, "I've got to get to class!"</p><p>"Thor—" Whatever Stephen says next is muffled behind the closed door.</p><p>Thor is way too early for class, and he opts to sit on a bench to pass his time. It's very likely that he won't be able to focus in class, so he sends Loki a text. He does not want to deal with the situation he has with Quill while studying.</p><p>big oaf &gt; Can we study in my room today?</p><p>little bro :D &gt; no.</p><p>big oaf &gt; Come onnn, loki!</p><p>little bro :D &gt; why</p><p>Thor thinks about it. Should he tell Loki?</p><p>big oaf &gt; Quill.</p><p>little bro :D &gt; i know you hate him but you have to learn to deal with him</p><p>big oaf &gt; The only reason you don't want to come over is because of strange.</p><p>little bro :D &gt; it's not the same thing and you know it</p><p>big oaf &gt; So?</p><p>little bro :D &gt; fine.</p><p>Thor freezes when he sees Quill when he looks up from his phone. A small part of his brain recalls that Quill doesn't have any classes today. How did he know that?</p><p>What's worse is that Quill has spotted Thor as well and is coming over. Oh god, oh god, oh god. What is Quill going to say to him?</p><p>"Thor," Quill is looking away. Thor likes the way his first name rolls off of Quill's tongue. "Do you have my jacket?" Oh.</p><p>"I left at my dorm," Thor says, trying to be as casual as possible. He can see the way Quill's jaw tightens. "I have to get to class," Thor blurts. This class excuse is really a lifesaver.</p><p>Quill doesn't say anything as Thor gets up and passes him. He just stands there and fixes his gaze on Thor walking away. If anyone says Quill is staring at Thor's ass, who blames him?</p><p>——</p><p>Thor tries his best to listen to the professor. He really does, but it's hard to listen when all Thor is able to focus on is Quill.</p><p>It's not the part where Quill fucked him into a mattress. It's weird because Thor would know how to feel about that part. He would probably do it again anyway, if not for the underlying desire for something else.</p><p>It's a desire to see Quill's eyes soften at his laugh again.</p><p>Thor is going to need the notes from someone else.</p><p>——</p><p>Quill sits down on his bed, sighing.</p><p>God, he wants to punch Thor right in his hot face, but he shouldn't think about that right now.</p><p>"Where the hell are you going?" Quill watches Loki throw on his backpack.</p><p>"To Thor's," Loki simply says, "since he's getting out of class." Huh. It's basically unheard of for Loki to visit Thor's dorm.</p><p>Strange and Loki hate each other. They throw each other judging glances, and they almost always get in a fight. It's a blessing that Thor or Wong is there to hold them off.</p><p>At least when Thor comes over, Quill is able to plug in his headphones and, for the most part, ignore him.</p><p>"Why? Don't you hate Strange?" Quill asks.</p><p>"Yes, of course," Loki's disdain is thick in his voice, "but Thor told me you—"</p><p>"You know?" Quill blurts, going red.</p><p>"Know... what?" Loki raises a brow and stops dead in his tracks. Oh no. This is what Quill gets for jumping to conclusions immediately.</p><p>"Nothing," Quill exclaims.</p><p>"Hmm," Loki looks at Quill for a second, "I guess I'll just ask Thor."</p><p>Loki is out the door before Quill can even get a word in.</p><p>Shit.</p><p>——</p><p>Thor is walking back from class when he spots Loki.</p><p>"Loki!"</p><p>"Thor, don't—" Loki is too late, and Thor sweeps him up in a bone-crushing hug.</p><p>"I missed you!" Thor smiles, letting Loki breathe.</p><p>"It's only been three days, Thor," Loki huffs.</p><p>"Yeah, but three days is a long time," Thor reaches his for his keys and opens up the door.</p><p>Stephen looks up from his laptop and leans over to see Loki, who is behind Thor.</p><p>"Ah, Stephen. Sorry for not telling you, but Loki's here so we can study," Thor prays that no fights break out between the two. Loki is crossing his arms and sits carefully on the edge of Thor's bed.</p><p>There are silent glances being passed as Thor grabs his books from the desk.</p><p>"So, Thor, what is it this time?" Loki is watching Thor flip through his notebook.</p><p>"I couldn't pay attention in class," Thor confesses, "Quill came up to me before class, so I got these notes from Bruce." Thor hopes Stephen doesn't say anything, but Loki catches the way Stephen lowers the volume on his headphones.</p><p>"I've been meaning to ask," Loki starts, "Quill mentioned something happening between you two. What is that about?" Loki smirks at the way Thor tries to play it off.</p><p>"It's nothing, really," Thor gives Loki the fakest smile Loki has ever seen. How would Loki react to this whole thing? Thor knows the most likely outcome is a whole lot of teasing.</p><p>"Brother, you wound me," Loki complains, "telling Strange before your own brother!" Thor is silent. He is typically grateful for Loki's observant nature, but the few times he's on the receiving end of it end up badly.</p><p>Loki looks around the room when the pieces fall into place. Quill always wears his jacket, so Loki was shocked to see it gone.</p><p>There it is, lazily discarded on the floor.</p><p>"You slept with Quill," Loki mumbles in disbelief. Loki knows he's correct by the way Thor's brows raise and his mouth opens slightly.</p><p>"What? How did you—" Thor follows Loki's gaze. "Stephen," Thor says.</p><p>"Hmm?" Stephen meets Thor's glance as if he hadn't been listening to their conversation the whole time.</p><p>"Why did you put his jacket here?" Thor doesn't like the way Stephen's mouth curls up in a grin.</p><p>"It was taking up too much space in the bathroom," Stephen shrugs, "didn't know we were having visitors. Sorry." Stephen's voice drips with sarcasm. He is most definitely not sorry. Not one bit. Thor doesn't want to start anything with Loki in the room, so he just stares into his notebook. He misses the smirk Loki gives Strange.</p><p>"So, Peter Quill?" Loki lays down, "you have such low standards, brother." Suddenly, the reason Thor wanted Loki to come over is clear.</p><p>"Hey!" Thor looks a little offended, "I was drunk, okay?"</p><p>"Whatever you say," Loki doesn't buy it because Thor suddenly tries to act all casual. So, as a good brother does, he drops it. "What did you need help with?" Thor wants to let out a sigh of relief.</p><p>"I probably should have asked Bruce," Thor is quickly pointing at his notebook, happy to do anything but talk about what happened, "but I don't get this lesson." Thor listens to Loki explain the concepts with relative ease, but he can't help but think about other things.</p><p>Wait, Quill told Loki?</p><p>——</p><p>Quill is pacing around the room. Loki returned, but oddly quiet. Loki is usually quiet, but this was too quiet.</p><p>Judging by the rapid texting, Loki has probably done something to ruin Quill's reputation.</p><p>Quill decides, hell, he needs to get out of this goddamned room. He shoves his keys in his pocket and checks his phone before leaving.</p><p>6:47 pm.</p><p>There's a new text from Tony Stark.</p><p>tone deaf &gt; party friday at 10 pm. my house.</p><p>Of course there is. With the blunt nature of the text, Tony must have mass texted it to at least 50 people.</p><p>As much as Quill would love to get drunk and dance, Thor is probably invited.</p><p>Oh, what the fuck is he thinking? Thor is definitely invited.</p><p>Quill swings open the door and locks it behind him. He doesn't know where he's going, but being out of that room felt good. The smell in the sheets still reminded Quill that Thor was there. </p><p>He's walking in the halls, and it's just his fucking luck.</p><p>Thor is holding Quill's jacket when he looks up. He stops in front of Quill with a slightly hard look in his eyes.</p><p>"Here's your jacket," Thor bites out, throwing it to Quill. Loki really wasn't joking about asking Thor.</p><p>"Hey," Quill grabs Thor's wrist as he turns to go back to his room, "you don't just get to walk out on me, and then get all pissy."</p><p>"Well, we don't always get what we want," Thor mutters. "Why did you tell Loki?"</p><p>"Why did you walk out on me?" Quill deflects.</p><p>Thor doesn't answer. They stare at each other, and Quill can't help the way his gaze lowers to the tight jeans hugging Thor's thighs. All at once, Thor's lips are on his, and Quill is not complaining one bit. It's rough and messy.</p><p>"My room is empty," Thor says between groans, "Stephen went to Tony's."</p><p>As Thor closes the door behind them, they're both certain this will end up becoming a regular thing.</p><p>The night is filled with squeaky bedsprings and breathy "Quill"s.</p><p>——</p><p>Thor wakes up to the sound of spam notifications.</p><p>Quill is still asleep, and Thor decides that waking him up would be worse for both of them.</p><p>Thor picks up his phone, and all of the texts are from Tony.</p><p>tony &gt; had fun last night?</p><p>tony &gt; sleepover.jpg</p><p>tony &gt; WAKE UP</p><p>tony &gt; oh wait</p><p>tony &gt; stephen just told me u don't have classes 2day</p><p>tony &gt; carry on lol</p><p>point break &gt; Where did you get those pictures?</p><p>tony &gt; well</p><p>tony &gt; i was dropping stephen off at the dorm</p><p>tony &gt; and you guys were out cold</p><p>tony &gt; so i took pics lol</p><p>point break &gt; Delete them.</p><p>tony &gt; i mean it was kinda ur fault</p><p>tony &gt; arent u glad we didn't come back when y'all were fuckign?</p><p>point break &gt; That's not the point!</p><p>Thor mutes his phone, and he lays back in bed. His eyes trail back to the rise and fall of Quill's chest and how relaxed Quill looks.</p><p>He wouldn't mind waking up to that every now and then.</p><p>Thor smiles to himself and notices something is amiss.</p><p>There's two glasses of water, a strong prescription of painkillers, and a post-it note placed on his desk.</p><p>'For Rapunzel and Flynn - Tony &lt;3' the note reads. Stephen's name comes through the messy scribbles overlaying it.</p><p>At least his friends care about him, right?</p><p>Thor takes the gift in stride, easily twisting the bottle of pills open. He downs a pill with some water.</p><p>God, Thor could go for some food. As Thor gets up, legs protest otherwise. Walking any long distance like this sounded like literal torture. He makes a mental note to find some positions that aren't so damaging to his legs.</p><p>While Thor waits for the pills to kick in, he scoots into the bathroom. He picks his clothing up off the floor so he can change in there. If he wants food, there are only four people that know of this situation already.</p><p>"Pick up," Thor begs, looking himself in the mirror.  "Val!"</p><p>"Whaddya' want, Sparkles?" Brunnhilde murmurs into the phone.</p><p>"Did I wake you up?"</p><p>"Yes, you idiot," Brunnhilde grumbles, "I did just wake up. What do you want?"</p><p>"Food," Thor says, "I'll pay you, I swear."</p><p>"Ugh, fine."</p><p>"Thanks, Val!" Thor smiles. "Sorry for bothering you and Mantis."</p><p>"I... hate you," Brunnhilde gets out.</p><p>"Love ya' too," Thor says. The line goes dead, and Thor is mentally fist-pumping. He gets dressed and twists the door open.</p><p>Quill is up, only donning his pants. Thor admires the view for a second.</p><p>"I gotta go," Quill says, slipping into his t-shirt quickly and throwing on his jacket. Quill leans over and kisses Thor on the cheek. "Bye." Quill is gone.</p><p>Oh.</p><p>Thor is sure Quill barely notices what he just did as he rushes out the door and closes it behind him.</p><p>Thor sits down on his bed, and his mind is racing. That place where Quill's lips were on his cheek feels like pins and needles.</p><p>Was that a habit Quill had?</p><p>Thor thought he could forget about this whole Quill thing, but apparently, the universe had different plans. These past few days have only been filled with thoughts of Quill and a lot of pain.</p><p>That kiss probably meant nothing to Quill, anyways. The way Quill just casually did that leaves no room for argument on that statement.</p><p>Why did he care so much? Quill was kissing him all last night too, but this felt so different. It wasn't sloppy and desperate at all. It was soft, and it felt right. So very right.</p><p>It didn't matter now.</p><p>Tomorrow, Quill would go back to hating Thor's guts (and rearranging them), and that would be just fine with Thor.</p><p>Right?</p><p>A faint knock at the door causes Thor to jump a little.</p><p>"Sparkles," Brunnhilde's voice calls. Thor lets out a breath. He had forgotten about asking Brunnhilde for food, but he's happy Brunnhilde followed through on it.</p><p>"The door's open," Thor says back. Brunnhilde is carrying a plate with fluffy waffles drizzled with a generous helping of maple syrup.</p><p>"Here you go, your majesty," Brunnhilde mocks. She places the food on his desk and inspects the note. She blinks for a moment before looking at Thor, "what's up with you?" He doesn't miss the way Brunnhilde's gaze lingers on how uncomfortably Thor is sitting.</p><p>"Nothing," Thor mutters. Surely some food will ease his mind. He shifts over, positioning himself closer to his desk. He sinks the fork into the waffles and digs in. "These are good," Thor mumbles.</p><p>"Chew with your mouth closed," Brunnhilde teases. Thor swallows his food. Thor feels the bed dip next to him as Brunnhilde sits.</p><p>"You want to know what happened?" Thor says. He looks over at Brunnhilde.</p><p>"Yes," Brunnhilde starts, "but only if you really want to. No pressure." She smiles reassuringly at Thor, and Thor smiles back.</p><p>"Maybe another time," Thor blurts. It's not that he doesn't want to tell Brunnhilde. It's the emotions he doesn't want to tell her. He doesn't like the way he's feeling at all. It'll go away eventually. The sooner it goes away, the better for everyone.</p><p>It's a lost cause to tell her.</p><p>Brunnhilde hums in response but doesn't make a move to get up. Thor expected Brunnhilde to leave if she didn't get the information she wanted.</p><p>But, she is his friend after all. Thor feels bad for thinking she'd do that.</p><p>The guilt fades as they talk all morning about everything, ranging from a time Brunnhilde recalls a homeless person throwing a brick at her to their favorite shows.</p><p>Brunnhilde ends up going on a long tangent about how much she loves Mantis. Thor can't help but smile when Brunnhilde basically melts over her girlfriend. He's so happy for them.</p><p>It's a nice escape from his emotional turmoil.</p><p>He doesn't even know what he was worried about until Brunnhilde heads out to go to work.</p><p>"Let me pay for this," Thor is about to get up when Brunnhilde cuts in.</p><p>"Nah, nah," Brunnhilde says, "you're good."</p><p>Thor doesn't want to be left with his thoughts so he decides to give one of the many shows Brunnhilde recommended to watch a chance.</p><p>It's good. Very good, actually.</p><p>Stephen returns later in the afternoon, though that's not what's odd.</p><p>What is odd is that Tony and Loki stand behind Stephen saying their goodbyes. They exchange glances over at Thor, who does his best to avoid their stares.</p><p>Thor has always thought about Stephen and Loki becoming friends. He never fathomed them becoming friends because of Thor's suffering.</p><p>They also would make a scarily powerful team. Thor knows. Both of them are extremely perceptive and quiet at times. Tony thrown in there just makes it worse.</p><p>Usually, Thor is able to control them because they were at each other's necks. Now that they're friends, they seem unstoppable.</p><p>He regrets ever wanting them to be friends. He'd pick breaking up fights over this any day.</p><p>"Don't forget the party on Friday," Tony calls out, winking at Thor. Loki's eyes crinkle up. What is that supposed to mean?</p><p>Thor considers texting Quill. Maybe he should ask if Loki has been acting weird or if either Stephen or Tony had been over lately.</p><p>Right before he's about to hit the send button, he deletes it and goes back to scrolling through Instagram. Thor sighs and starts to think again.</p><p>Looking up at Stephen texting who he presumes to be Tony and Loki, the glass of water for Quill still on the desk, the plate full with waffles crumbs and syrup he forgot to discard, he knows.</p><p>He knows when he swipes past a picture of Quill with a bright smile and sparkles in his eyes.</p><p>This funny feeling in his chest isn't going away anytime soon.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for all the support on this fic! This is my first attempt at a longer fic, so all your comments and kudos warm my heart! &lt;3 Thanks again :)</p>
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